Pyramidal highway marker with resilient walls



Get 4, 1949. v H. E. NEAL 2,483,734

PYRAMIDAL HIGHWAY MARKER WITH RESILIENT WALLS Filed Oct. 4, 1944 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Oct. 4, 1949 ,PYRAMIDAL HIGHWAY MARKER WITH RE SILIENT WALLs Harry E. Neal, Columbus, Ohio, assignor to Plastic Engineering, 1110., Cleveland, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application October 4, 1944, Serial'No. 557,205

This invention relates to markers and is part'icularly applicable for use on highways, such as those on which guide lines have loeen freshly painted.

An object of the'invention is to provide an improved marker which will be extremely durable.

Another object .is to provide an improved marker which is readily visible.

Another object is to provide an improved marker which can easily be nested to aid in transportation.

Another object is to provide an improved marker which is simple in construction.

Another object is to provide an improved marker which can easily and economically be manufactured.

Another object is to provide an improved marker which will deter people from intentionally colliding with the same.

Another :object is to provide an improved marker which will present substantially the same appearance irrespective of upon which sideit may be resting.

Another object is to provide an improved marker which will be light inweigl'rt yet not readily displaced by wind currents.

Another object is to provide an improved marker which will be neat and attractive in appearance.

Another object is to provide an improved marker which may be used as a support for other indicia.

Another object is to provide an improved marker which will occupy little space.

Other objects will hereinafter appear.

The invention will be better understood from the description of one practical embodiment thereof, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the marker in use;

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of the marker of Figure 1, taken on the line IIII thereof, also showing how the markers may be nested; and

Figure 3 is a perspective View of the marker when turned on one side.

Markers are extensively used to protect various lines and other marks applied to highways, after these have been freshly painted, and during the period required for the paint to dry, to prevent pedestrians and vehicles from tracking the wet point onto unpainted portions of the pavement, impairing the appearance of the mark, and, by

3 iClaims. (Cl. 4:0--125) 2 l thinning the covering coat, contributing to its rapid deterioration.

Many make-shift devices have been used for this purpose,such as the sawhorse-like barricades which are used to protect workment repairing sections of road, various types of flags "and supports, and even, at times, boxes and other devices which maybe picked up near the mace where they are used.

Some-oi these protective devices occupy considerable space, even to the extent of encroaching upon the portions of the highway which are being traveled or upon portions occupied by the workmen.

If insignificantlooking devices .be used, careless motorists run over them or straddle them with their wheels, 'thus producing just exactly the resultsthat the markers are intended to prevent.

Consequently, the ideal marker for such lines and .in-dicia is one which .does not itself occupy a great "space, but which has the appearance of being quite solid, .50 thatit suggeststhat substantial-damage may be done to a vehicle colliding with it, or more particularly to tires.

On the other hand, it is actually desirable that themarker be such that it will not in fact inflict such damage should it accidentally be contacted by the vehicle.

Other desiderata are that the marker shall not readily be broken or destroyed, either by rough handling or by collision; that it shall not readily be displaced by air currents, Whether these be high winds or eddies created by closely and rapidly passing vehicles; that, if displaced, it shall not move far from its original position nor lose its high degree of visibility; and that, while being capable of spanning a freshly painted line, it shall not itself contact the paint and smear the same.

The marker illustrated adequately fulfills all these conditions.

The marker shown is of generally equilateral, triangular, pyramidal form, consisting of three equilateral triangular sides I, 2 and 3 and an open base substantially identical in shape to each of these sides.

The sides themselves are relatively thin, flat walls in the position of three sides of a regular tetrahedron, the fourth side of which is open and is used as the base of the marker.

At each apex is formed an enlarged knob or boss 4a., 4b, 4c, and 4d, shown as generally spherical in shape, the bosses having their centers at the apexes formed by the plane outer surfaces of the sides and so projecting substantially beyond,

these outer planes of the sides. Hence, the three balls or bosses at the lowermost corners act as feet, supporting the rest of the marker substantially above the plane of the surface on which these feet are supported, namely: the upper surface of the road 5, and thus clearing the freshly painted mark 6 thereon.

Each of the triangular sides is perforated adjacent the apex where the three sides meet by a relatively large hole 1, and the upper boss or knob 4a has a central cylindrical perforation 8 with its axis substantially normal to the plane of the open side of the pyramid into which a stafi supporting a flag or sign may be inserted.

The flat sides may be readily and economical- -ly cut from sheet material and assembled with the balls, or the entire device may :be molded of resilient material such as rubber, thermoplastic, or the like.

The device is most conspicuous and eflective when made in bright colors, particularly with the knobs of a sharply contrasting color to that used on the triangular sides, as for instance by using a brilliant red for the side triangles and a brilliant yellow for the knobs.

As indicated by dot-and-dash lines in Figure 2, the markers may be nested into a very compact space, simply by placing one over the other, and are supported with their sides spaced from each other by contact of the knobs at very few spaced points, so that even if these knobs have become smeared with paint, they do not seriously distribute this over adjacent markers.

The marker when resting upon a road surface has a very low center of gravity and relatively little wind resistance. Its appearance is that of a comparatively solid and immovable obstruction, which serves as a kind of implied threat, deterring drivers from running into it.

The sloping sides of the marker deflect currents of air from passing vehicles or high winds, thus reducing the probability of displacement. The openings in the sides permit air to pass through it, further lessening the probability of displacement.

Should the marker become capsized, as indicated in Figure 3, its appearance is not substantially changed, but it will remain in this position, not being readily displaced, as wind currents entering the open sides may pass freely through the perforations in the other sides.

While I have described the illustrated embodiment of my invention is some particularity, obviously many other embodiments, variations, and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in this art, and I do not, therefore, limit myself to the precise details shown and described herein, but claim as my invention all embodiments, modifications and variations coming within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A marker comprising a plurality of thin substantially plane resilient Walls arranged in the form of an open based pyramid, and projecting knobs at the corners thereof, the knobs being substantially spherical with their centers substan-- tially at the apexes formed by the sides.

2. A marker comprising a plurality of thin substantially plane resilient walls arranged in the form of an open based equilateral pyramid, and projecting knobs at the corners thereof, the sides being perforated near their corners remote from the open base.

3. A marker comprising a plurality of thin substantially plane resilient walls arranged in the form of an open based equilateral pyramid, and projecting knobs at the corners thereof, the sides being perforated near their corners remote from the open base, and the knob adjacent the perforations having a staff receiving recess.

HARRY E. NEAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Scanlon Nov. 2, 1943 

